By SYDNEY SCHWARTZ
The Patriot Ledger

MARSHFIELD - The Marshfield teen convicted of planning an attack on Marshfield High School will spend the next five months in the Plymouth County jail.

Tobin Kerns, 19, was sentenced today to 10 months in jail by Juvenile Court Judge Louis Coffin. He was given credit for time he spent in a juvenile detention center after his arrest, and for the past six weeks awaiting sentencing.

He was found guilty Sept. 27 of conspiracy to commit murder and threatening to use deadly weapons in a school massacre planned for April 2005.

Kerns was tried as a youthful offender. His trial was largely completed in October 2006, but a verdict was delayed because prosecutors and the judge had differing legal interpretations of a law on making threats to use dangerous weapons at a school. The argument was decided by the state Supreme Judicial Court.

Kerns and Joseph Nee, 21, were indicted in the fall of 2004 on charges that they planned to lock down Marshfield High, set off explosions throughout the school and then start shooting. The plot was allegedly modeled after the 1999 killings at Columbine, a high school in Colorado, which killed 15 people.

Both Kerns and Nee were students at the school at the time. Nee, the son of Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Thomas Nee, is awaiting trial in Plymouth Superior Court.

Two other Marshfield students, Joseph Sullivan and Daniel Farley, were given immunity in exchange for their testimony. Nee and Kerns were members of a clique that called itself the Natural Born Killers.

During the trial, Kerns denied having any part in the plan. He admitted to writing a list of supplies that would enable someone to lay siege to the high school, but he said he did so mockingly, in an effort to patronize Nee.

Kerns testified that he did not think Nee was serious when he talked about seeking revenge on his enemies.

In September, Judge Coffin said he believes that Kerns was involved in the plot only until June 2004, when he was hospitalized for mental-health problems. Kerns was arrested in September 2004. Nee was arrested the following month.

Kerns’ lawyer said that in the three years since the teenager was arrested, he has changed his life. Kerns finished two years of high school with a private tutor, enrolled in classes at Quincy College and has been working at a student-loan collection agency in Norwell. He presented letters from supporters of his client.

Kerns will receive credit for time served in jail. He spent 105 days in a juvenile detention center in 2004. He was released on bail in January 2005. He spent the last six weeks in a juvenile detention center while awaiting his verdict.

Sydney Schwartz may be reached at sschwartz@ledger.com .

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Tuesday, November 13, 2007